June 4, 2013

Come June, my head spins as end-of-the-year school functions approach with rapid fire. And this year, I also find myself in the last week of finishing the manuscript for my book, which feels very much like giving birth to a 3rd child! Life is extremely busy, and can feel like a bit of a whirlwind for someone like me who enjoys being social, but also craves slowness and quiet.

Have you tried an It's-It? Ice cream, sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies, then dipped in chocolate... that's right. That's the kind of summer treat I'm craving these days. It's-Its were created in San Francisco in the 1920s and you can still find them tucked into ice cream freezers all over the West Coast. When I saw a recipe for homemade It's-Its in Jennie Schacht'scharming new book, I knew I had to make them with Lilah and her buddy, Anni.

First, go ahead and make your cookies. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, or using a medium mixing bowl with a hand-mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Blend until ingredients are integrated.

In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. While the standing mixer is still whirling, slowly add the dry ingredients. Finally, add oats to the batter. Mix until batter is well blended.

Line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop dough onto the lined cookie sheets. Jennie very wisely suggests making 24 tablespoon size cookies. (We went ahead and made 14 bigger cookies - piggies, I know. From here on out, I'll stick to Jennie's reasonable portions!) Give the cookies some room to spread during baking, and use your fingertips to flatten the dough a bit, flatter disk-shaped cookies make for more manageable ice cream sandwiches.

Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes until golden, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on their baking sheet, then transfer them to a rack to finish cooling.

Once cookies have cooled completely, scoop (slightly softened) ice cream between two cookies to make a sandwich. Stick the prepared sandwiches in the freezer on a parchment-lined baking sheet to chill thoroughly before dipping them into the chocolate shell.

Making the chocolate shell... Gently melt chocolate with coconut oil in a double boiler, or microwave. Once the chocolate is warm, liquidy, and smooth, stir and you've got your dipping chocolate.

Take each fully-frozen ice cream sandwich, and dip it halfway into the the melted chocolate. Let the drips fall away and then return the dipped sandwich to your cold, parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze the sandwiches again for 15 minutes, until the chocolate had chilled and hardened.

Eat and enjoy! Wrap any extra ice cream sandwiches in parchment and store them in the freezer until you're ready to munch again.

makes 12 ice cream sandwiches (we made 7 monster-size sandwiches, but I will definitely stick with a more manageable size next time)

Thanks for sharing my Better-Than-It ice cream sandwich with your readers. It looks like Lilah and Anni are having a great time, and that's what it's all about. And there is no shame in using store-bought ice cream!

Jennie, Your Better Than-It are wonderful! We had such a great time, and it has been years since I've tasted an It's It. Such a delicious trip down memory lane thanks to you. You're book is fantastic.... We can't wait to make more ice cream sandwiches.xoxoE

The ice cream sandwiches look so good! I'll go for anything dipped in chocolate. Our next door neighbors have 3 daughters who are out of school on sumer break, and I've enjoyed watching them run around, soaking up the summer with abandon.

LOVING your ice cream sandwiches! I bet your kids were in heaven with these tasty treats. Loving the photos. This weekend should be toasty in the Bay Area and how great would these be. Hope you are having a great week Erin!!!

Hi Erin, So good to see you a couple weeks ago at the reading. It's been too long.... Once again I just finished making your gorgeous recipe and as I write the sandwiches are in the freezer getting ready to be sampled by my teenage testers! I wanted to address one thing, the dipping sauce came out crazy thick and nothing like your photos. Is this normal? I basically ended up scooping the chocolate onto each sandwich instead of dipping them. Do you have any thoughts for me about what I did wrong? I am sure they will taste amazing but the perfectionist baker in me wants to figure out what I need to tweak...thanks for all the foodspiration

About the chocolate shell... I'm thinking it needs to be warmed more. You do want the chocolate to be nice and liquidy, but not crazy hot.

I must admit, I use a microwave to melt my chocolate. I heat it for a minute, then stir. Do another 30 seconds stir. Another 30 stir. Etc.. until the consistency is just right. I hope that helps. I want the perfectionist in you to be satisfied:)

I know what you mean... I'm almost ashamed to admit that I have a microwave in this town. But it really makes melting chocolate easy. One other thought... if you got even a drop of water in your chocolate when using the double-boiler method, the chocolate will seize up, and it can never loosen again. Ugh.Glad Oscar liked them - I know your boys know their food:)xoxoE

Goodness gracious! You made me want to bit my screen...aiming for that ice cream sandwich, of course. Seems like the girls are having fun in the kitchen with you too. :) I love ice cream and cookies...but haven't make them at home yet. Guess I'll have to give these a try. Thank you so much for sharing.

Oh I think you'd love these! For me, the easy chocolate shell was the real revelation in this recipe. Maybe that sort of thing is old new to an expert baker like yourself, but I was thrilled by how easy it is:)Hope you are well!xoxoxoE

Thank you! I'm dying to share it all. I couldn't be happier and it feels so great to be just about ready to turn the baby in. We still have to wait a year until it's in store. But as we know... time flies.xoxo to you,E

Erin, now I have Alice Cooper in my head too :)These look great. I bet the kids loved dipping their own!I can't wait to get my hands on your book - it's going to be just as gorgeous as your blog. Happy summer to you!

Goodness! I've never come across a chocolate-dipped oatmeal ice cream sandwich here in the middle of the U.S. I'm so smitten by the idea, though, that I'll have to make these a reality soon! Happy summer, Erin.

I am not really an ice cream person but one day I made some ice cream sandwich along with some friends and loved baking the cooking and assembling the sandwich. Now, when you dip it in chocolate, that's like taking it to a whole new level :)

We are huge fans of ice cream sandwiches around our house and they always seem to make everyone so happy:) But yes the chocolate dip is a whole new level for us too!Hope you're well Kankana and that summer is treating you right.xoE

I am certain that these would be a blast to make, and eat, with my girls. We're swamped with school being out and too much busyness. They deserve a fun treat and this is totally it. And yeah, I considered playing some Alice Cooper for my 5 year-old on her last day, but feared it might send the wrong message. Congratulations on your book! (Can't wait to get my hands on it!)

Elizabeth, I hope your move has been treating you all right! I always find that the transition to summer is tricky with the kiddos, and then we all finally slow down and get in the mellow groove. I love that feeling.xoxoE

Omg Erin I can't believe you're already turning in your manuscript! It's crazy to think how fast time flies! I love a good ice cream sandwich...loving everything about these photos. Hope you are well, and relaxing, enjoying this gorgeous summer!

This looks amazing!!! We would love it if you would link up at our We Scream For Ice Cream linky party/giveaway:http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com/we-scream-for-ice-cream-linky-party/Live the whole month of July. Hosted by:http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com/ Parrish @ Life with the Crust Cut Offhttp://thissillygirlslife.com/ Dana @ This Silly Girl's LifeWe hope to see you there!